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September: A hand-picked digest of news stories from the past month that emerging writers should know about, by Maame Blue 👇

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News for emerging book authors: September

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 2h

The sinister story of the vanishing queer books: Tech giants are enabling censorship by letting queer books slip out of view, writes author Mo Fanning. 👇

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The sinister story of the vanishing queer books

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 3h

Good books are falling through the cracks, writes Jack Reacher creator Lee Child 👇

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Lee Child: Good books are falling through the cracks

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 5h

Weidenfeld & Nicolson (W&N) has acquired The Unwelcome Guest, a new standalone novel by the Reverend Richard Coles, marking a departure from his bestselling Canon Clement Mysteries. They will publish the novel on 3rd June 2027.👇

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Weidenfeld & Nicolson acquires Richard Coles' The Unwelcome Guest

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 6h

HarperCollins will publish its latest Agatha Christie continuation with the first Hercule Poirot short-story collection that has been fully authorised by the Christie estate; an "exceptional group" of a dozen writers, not yet named, will contribute. The collection will launch in autumn 2027. 👇

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Little grey sells: HarperCollins to publish authorised Hercule Poirot short-story collection

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 7h

Anglophone titles are dominating the German-language territories’ book imports – and taking a significant chunk of their bestselling fiction. 👇

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How German book markets are being hit by an Anglophone invasion

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 7h

Rebecca Yarros’ fans have flocked to bookshops to buy a copy of Threshing Day, pushing it straight to the top of the Official UK Top 50, according to the latest data from NielsenIQ BookScan’s Total Consumer Market (TCM). 👇

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Thrashing Day: Rebecca Yarros flies to the top of the Official UK Top 50

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 7h

Chatto & Windus has triumphed in a 10-way auction for A Time of Great Disturbance, a “darkly funny, richly imagined and deeply humane debut novel set in medieval Ireland” by Eoin McLaughlin. A Time of Great Disturbance, scheduled for publication in spring 2028. 👇

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Chatto & Windus wins 10-way auction for Eoin McLaughlin’s award-winning debut novel

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 8h

Fig Tree, an imprint of Penguin Books UK, has announced its 2028 lead debut Coupled Up, written by fiction editor Charlotte Cray. 👇

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Fig Tree pre-empts Charlotte Cray's debut

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 8h

Hay House has had a seven-figure pre-empt accepted for author and podcaster Florence Given’s new book, which aims to “[expose] the unspoken forces that keep women small”. Who Does She Think She Is? is scheduled for publication 30th March 2027. 👇

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Hay House pre-empts Florence Given’s ‘cultural reckoning' for seven figures

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 8h

Spotify is expanding its audiobook service from 22 markets to more than 180 by the end of 2026, potentially giving more than 750 million people access to audiobooks through the streaming platform. 👇

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Spotify to expand audiobooks to more than 180 markets by end of 2026

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 8h

HarperVoyager and Magpie publisher Natasha Bardon has crossed the aisle to authoring, as her "Desperate Housewives meets Practical Magic" debut novel has been sold both in the UK and US at auction, while screen rights are currently the object of a “furious bidding war”. 👇

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Faber wins three-way auction for ‘wry, dark, thrilling and sexy’ debut from HarperVoyager's Natasha Bardon

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 9h

Start-up Books By People has registered the UK’s first certification mark for human-authored books with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). 👇

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Intellectual Property Office registers UK’s first ‘human-authored’ certification mark

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 9h

Czechia will be Frankfurt Book Fair's Guest of Honour for 2026. Under a motto inspired by Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, we will present Czech literature and the book industry as a unique current in the global literary ocean. 🌊🇨🇿 Explore the programme: czechia2026.com/programme/?... #ad

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 9h

The co-founder of Pangram has defended its AI detection tool from suggestions that it disproportionately penalises authors of colour, while saying there has been a “huge upswing” in adoption of the platform “in the literary world”. 👇

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Pangram CEO says ‘no bias’ in its AI-detection tool, as adoption rises

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 9h

Say hello to Cambridge University Press at #FBM26! 👋 If you are at Frankfurt Book Fair head to 📍Hall 4.1 C16 to pay them a visit #Ad

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 06/10/2026

23-year-old Eloise Rodger speaks to The Bookseller about her debut, a story about familial bonds and first love. “What comes with our understanding of grief is a big list of things that you’re allowed or not allowed to do” 👇

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23-year-old Eloise Rodger’s debut is a love story between two sisters

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 06/10/2026

HarperFiction has struck a new multi-book deal with bestselling romantic fiction author Cressy McLaughlin, author of 18 novels. McLaughlin’s first standalone in the new contract, The Perfect Twist, will publish in Spring 2027. 👇

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Cressy McLaughlin pivots to spicy romance with HarperFiction four-book deal

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 06/10/2026

Historical crime writer Sally Smith talks about her most engaging character: the eccentric Edwardian barrister turned amateur sleuth, Sir Gabriel Ward KC and her upcoming book in the series. 👇

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Sleuth will out: Sally Smith on plotting the latest case for Sir Gabriel Ward KC

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 06/10/2026

Gemini Books Group has acquired the trade and assets of Publications International Ltd (PIL) following investment from existing and new shareholders. 👇

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Gemini Books Group acquires assets of Publications International Limited

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 06/10/2026

Sphere has acquired The Muse by LS Hilton, a “dark and seductive” psychological thriller that follows a live-in assistant to a reclusive artist who glimpses something she was never supposed to see. Sphere, an imprint of Little, Brown, will publish The Muse as a lead title in February 2028. 👇

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Sphere snaps up L S Hilton’s psychological thriller as a 2028 lead title

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 06/10/2026

Five academic publishers – BMJ Group, Sage, IOP Publishing, IGI Global Scientific Publishing and Wanfang Data – have struck a deal with AI company Redpine to provide AI agents with licensed access to 20 million peer-reviewed research papers. 👇

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BMJ Group, Sage and more to share 20m research papers with AI company Redpine

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 06/10/2026

The Booker Prize Foundation is joining up with the University of East Anglia (UEA) on a new creative writing scholarship, in honour of the foundation’s former company secretary Eve Smith. 👇

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The Booker Prize Foundation joins with UEA on new scholarship

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 06/10/2026

Walker Books will publish We’re Going on a Christmas Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, the first new Bear Hunt picture book since the original was published in 1989. The hardback will publish on 9th September 2027. 👇

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Walker to publish first new Bear Hunt picture book since 1989

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 06/10/2026

Hachette UK has acquired independent children’s publisher Otter-Barry Books, with its backlist and contracted frontlist set to transfer into Hachette Children’s Group (HCG). 👇

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Hachette UK acquires Otter-Barry Books

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 06/10/2026

Dan Jones, historian and bestselling author has been commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications to write a new James Bond adventure to celebrate the National Year of Reading. All In will be published on Thursday 3rd December. 👇

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Dan Jones commissioned to write National Year of Reading James Bond novella

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 06/10/2026

Bloomsbury has acquired two thrillers by Catherine Ryan Howard, Ordinary Monster and a second as-yet-untitled novel. Ordinary Monster will be a major lead title for Bloomsbury’s crime imprint, publishing in July 2027. 👇

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Catherine Ryan Howard moves to Bloomsbury in exclusive submission

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 06/10/2026

Author Kelechi Okafor has said that the “goalposts are being shifted constantly” for Black writers, referencing the way they are disproportionately targeted by the media and AI detection tools. 👇

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Goalposts shift constantly for Black authors, festival hears

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 06/10/2026

Former Orion publisher and deputy CEO Malcolm Edwards died on 3rd October, with his family by his side.

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‘Inspired and inspiring’ publisher and former Orion deputy CEO Malcolm Edwards dies

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 06/10/2026

It is a fortnight to the day since Thélyson Orélien was accused by the then anonymous X account Balance ton Claude of having written most of his award-winning novel C’était ça ou mourir (It Was That or Die) by generative AI – but this has not dented sales. 👇

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Sales of Thélyson Orélien's novel skyrocket despite AI and plagiarism accusations

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 05/10/2026

Isabel Martin has been promoted to scout and Tom Taylor to associate scout at Daniela Schlingmann Literary Scouting (DSLS).👇

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Isabel Martin and Tom Taylor promoted at Daniela Schlingmann Literary Scouting

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 05/10/2026

UK book market revenue rose 1.5% in the first half of 2026, despite a 1.1% fall in volume sales, according to new international market data from NielsenIQ BookData and GfK Entertainment. 👇

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UK book market revenue rises 1.5% as fiction drives international growth

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 05/10/2026

Kit Chapman has won the 2026 Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize for The Age of Alchemy: How Early Innovators Shaped Modern Chemistry (Profile Books).👇

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Kit Chapman wins 2026 Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 05/10/2026

Piatkus non-fiction has won an 11-way auction for neurophysiologist, brain-health expert and Alzheimer’s specialist Dr Louisa Nicola’s “groundbreaking, science-backed book to help close the brain-health gap for women”. Piatkus, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group, will publish in early 2028. 👇

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Piatkus wins 11-way auction for Louisa Nicola’s book on women’s brain health

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 05/10/2026

Picture Books is most often not powered by immediate huge hits, but by long-standing, consistently selling backlist. 👇

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Picture books: playing the long game of neverending stories

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 05/10/2026

Toby Trackman, the director of BBC Arts’ upcoming documentary The Book That Changed My Life, has told The Bookseller the process of making the film showed him “the importance of diversity in publishing” and “making books tokens of shared culture again". 👇

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BBC documentary 'The Book that Changed My Life' shows 'importance of diverse publishing'

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 05/10/2026

Broadcasters Rob Rinder and Konstantin Kisin have joined the advisory board of High Line Publishing Studio, the international publisher founded by Neil Blair and run by Oliver Malcolm. 👇

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High Line Publishing launches with expanded team

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 05/10/2026

Doubleday (@doubledaybooks.bsky.social) has acquired the new psychological thriller from Paula Hawkins, the author of The Girl on the Train, in a “major” deal. The thriller is scheduled for publication by Transworld on 15th July 2027.👇

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Transworld bags Paula Hawkins’ new thriller as TV and international rights swept up

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 05/10/2026

Conversations start at Frankfurt. Continue them with The Bookseller. Subscribe here👉 www.thebookseller.com/frank...

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 03/10/2026

ICYMI: Hachette Children’s Group will publish Heartstopper: The Mini-Comics by Alice Oseman, featuring two previously unseen original mini-comics alongside existing fan favourites. The full-colour hardback will publish on HCG’s Tempest imprint on 7th September 2027. 👇

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Hachette Children’s Group announces Heartstopper: The Mini-Comics

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 03/10/2026

ICYMI: Transworld has poached Mhairi McFarlane from HarperCollins, after 12 novels with the publisher, with a two-book deal. The first novel, Significant Others, will publish in spring 2028. 👇

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Transworld poaches Mhairi McFarlane from HarperCollins with two-book deal

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 02/10/2026

Shelley’s Hachette sidestep is a moment to re-prioritise, writes Philip Jones in this week's editor's letter. 👇

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Editor's letter: Shelley’s Hachette sidestep is a moment to re-prioritise

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 02/10/2026

Tor UK (@torbooksuk.bsky.social) has acquired A Melody of Bones and an as-yet-untitled sequel by debut author Sonja Howard, with publication of the first book scheduled for 2028. 👇

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Tor UK signs A Melody of Bones by debut author Sonja Howard in two-book deal

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 02/10/2026

Skylight Books has made its first acquisition, Between the Years, a debut second-chance love story by Anna Walden. The book will publish in e-book and audio on 19th November 2026, with a paperback following in autumn 2027. 👇

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Skylight makes first acquisition with Anna Walden’s Between the Years

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 02/10/2026

DK Children’s is expanding its Anthologies range with four new titles in 2027, as the series approaches sales of 5.5m copies worldwide. 👇

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DK Children’s expands Anthologies series with four titles

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 02/10/2026

Harvill has acquired Guilewright by Minnesota-based author Samantha Lindberg, billed as a ‘Victorian gothic horror-romance’. Publication is scheduled for March 2028.👇

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Harvill snares Samantha Lindberg’s ‘freaky, grotesque’ debut novel

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 02/10/2026

WW Norton will launch a new trade imprint, Norton Waverly, in spring 2027, led by Karen Lotz, who joined the company in September 2025 as director of children’s books and strategic development. 👇

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WW Norton launches new trade imprint Norton Waverly

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 02/10/2026

Stella Giatrakou has been appointed group rights director of Bonnier Books UK’s adult and children’s trade publishing, effective from 1st October. 👇

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Bonnier Books UK appoints Stella Giatrakou to newly created role of group rights director

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 02/10/2026

Picador has promoted Andrea Henry to non-fiction publisher and Sophie Jonathan to fiction publisher following a “record year” for the imprint. Both were previously publishing directors. 👇

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Andrea Henry and Sophie Jonathan promoted to publishers at Picador

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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 02/10/2026

Ghostwriting and editorial services firm Kevin Anderson & Associates has appointed Clare Christian as managing director. 👇

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Kevin Anderson & Associates appoints Clare Christian as MD

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